Markup Wrap Up: Oversight Committee Passes Legislation to Address Prescription Drug Costs, Regulatory Burdens, and More

WASHINGTON—Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a markup to consider a series of bills that address prescription drug costs, regulatory burdens, crime in the nation’s capital, improving government operations, and tracking mail in ballots.

“I am thrilled that the Oversight Committee took action today to further several pieces of legislation – many of them bipartisan – that will root out waste, fraud, and abuse across government. From reducing the cost of prescription drugs to ensuring federal rulemaking relies on the best available information and data, these measures will benefit the American people by ensuring government agencies are efficient, reliable, and trustworthy,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)

The following bills were reported favorably to the House by the Committee:

H.R. 6283, the Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act (Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks): This legislation creates certain requirements for Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) that contract with a carrier offering health benefits plans offered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, including de-linking policies and prohibitions on spread pricing and patient steering

“Rarely a day goes by that I don’t hear from constituents concerned about the high cost of prescription drugs. […] I am pleased the Committee is considering such important legislation to reign in these PBMs and curb these abusive practices,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) during the markup of the bill.

H.R. 7219, the Information Quality Assurance Act (Rep. Lisa McClain): This legislation builds upon the Information Quality Act and the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 by requiring agencies to rely on the best, reasonably available scientific, technical, demographic, economic, financial, and statistical information to support new rules and guidance.

“Each year, thousands of regulations are imposed as an added burden on the American public. […] If we must have rules imposed by federal regulatory agencies, we should, at the very least, ensure that regulatory agencies rely on the best available information,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)

“If we want the best outcomes, we need federal agencies to use the best information. The Information Quality Assurance Act would require federal agencies to rely on the best reasonably available scientific, technical, demographic, economic, and statistical information and evidence in their rules and guidance. Just like Americans want the best information when they are shoppers and decisionmakers, Americans want to have confidence that federal agencies are making informed decisions based on the best data. This bill helps provide that certainty,” said Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), cosponsor of the bill.

“From my time in business I can tell you, American employers and workers cannot afford for the federal government to impose new regulations and guidance on them that are misinformed and backed by bad data,” said Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), sponsor of the bill.

H.R. 262, the All Economic Regulations are Transparent (ALERT) Act (Rep. Bob Good): This legislation requires agencies to submit monthly updates to the Office of Information Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on their regulatory plans – including specific information on expected costs and other economic effects. The bill also prohibits agencies from promulgating new rules for which online updates have not been available for at least six months.

 “The federal regulatory system is estimated to impose over three trillion dollars in annual costs on the American economy. To make matters worse, federal regulators are constantly adding to this cost by pumping out thousands of new rules every year. The weight of these rules falls hard on hardworking Americans. The least the federal government can do is give fair notice of what new rules are planned, how much they are likely to cost, and when they are expected to be imposed,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)

“Under the ALERT Act, industries, employers, employees, manufacturers, and stakeholders effected by a proposed rule would have a clearer idea of the potential costs of a rule compliance with the necessary lead time to address it,” said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.)

H.R. 5798, the Protecting Our Nation’s Capital Emergency Act (Rep. Andrew Garbarino): This bill amends the D.C. Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to restore two provisions recently removed by the Comprehensive Policing Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-345), including Metro Police Department (MPD) officer union bargaining in matters of officer discipline as well as the timeline under which such discipline must be carried out for alleged wrongdoing.

“The men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department serve their community every day to keep the district safe and secure. In doing so, the department routinely places themselves in dangerous situations to protect others. And yet, progressive policies from the Washington, D.C. council continue to hamstring district police officers and needlessly place them in unsafe situations […] This legislation is necessary to ensure the Metropolitan Police Department’s recruitment and retention,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)

H.R. 7184, the Congressional Budget Office Data Access Act (Rep. Glenn Grothman): This bill provides the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a Legislative Branch Agency, with an exemption to the Privacy Act of 1974, allowing CBO to more easily access data and information maintained by federal agencies that it needs to conduct assessments.

“Under existing law, CBO must meet the confidentiality standards required by the agency that is providing the data. This bill maintains that standard of confidentiality while expanding CBO’s data access authority,” […] CBO access to agency data is critical for the legislative branch agencies’ ability to fulfill its mission,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)

H.R. 6972, the Securing Chain of Command Continuity Act (Rep. Jennifer Kiggans): This bill amends the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 to require members of the National Security Council (NSC) that are also the head of an Executive Branch agency to specifically provide notification to the President, the Comptroller General of the United States (GAO), and to House and Senate leadership within 24 hours of any planned or unplanned medical incapacity impeding the ability of the NSC member to perform the function and duties of their office.

“Like many of you, I was shocked when Congress learned that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was medically incapacitated for days before the President or congressional leaders were made aware. The lack of transparency set off alarm bells on both sides of the aisle and across the national security community,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)

H.R. 5658, the Vote by Mail Tracking Act (Rep. Katie Porter): This bill amends Title 39 of the U.S. Code (Postal Service) to require ballots mailed within the United States for all federal elections be mailed in an envelope with a unique Postal Service barcode that allows the ballot to be tracked in the mail.

“Every American citizen who votes deserves to know that their vote has been counted and their voice has been heard,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)

“This comprehensive legislation requires ballots for all federal elections to be trackable in the mail by having unique postal service barcodes ensuring it can be tracked from the mailbox to the ballot box. There’s nothing more American or more supportive of a republic and a democracy than this piece of legislation,” said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), cosponsor of the bill.

H.R. 5887, the Government Service Delivery Improvement Act (Rep. Ro Khanna): This bill tasks the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and each agency with designating a senior official as responsible of coordinating government efforts to improve service delivery.

“Outdated bureaucratic government processes make it challenging and costly to deliver government services. This waste of taxpayer dollars creates opportunities for fraud and abuse,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)

“The Government Service Delivery Improvement Act isn’t just about streamlining processes. It’s about rebuilding trust between the government and its people. It’s about ensuring that when Americans turn to their government for assistance, they’re met with efficiency, reliability, and above all, respect,” said Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.), cosponsor of the bill.

Postal naming measures.